Scare PewDiePie

Last updated

Scare PewDiePie
Scare PewDiePie logo.jpg
Title card
Genre
Directed byTravis Draft
Starring Felix Kjellberg
ComposerJim McKeever
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes10 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Robert Kirkman
  • Felix Kjellberg
  • Kevin Healey
  • Bonnie Pan
  • Amy Finnerty
  • Rachel Skidmore
  • David Albert
ProducerDavid Storrs
Production location Los Angeles
CinematographyBruce Ready
Editors
  • Pierre Dwyer
  • Alex Garcia
  • Peter Bumgarner
  • Tato Maizza
  • Jim Ruxin
  • Ryan Wise
Running time14–23 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkYouTube Red
ReleaseFebruary 10 (2016-02-10) 
April 6, 2016 (2016-04-06)

Scare PewDiePie (stylized in all caps) is an American comedy horror reality web series that stars Swedish YouTube personality Felix Kjellberg, known professionally as PewDiePie. The series was produced by Maker Studios (now Disney Digital Network) and Skybound Entertainment, with Robert Kirkman serving as executive producer, and premiered on February 10, 2016 exclusively for YouTube Red (now called YouTube Premium), the paid subscription arm of YouTube. Episodes feature Kjellberg exploring sets designed and based on horror video games that he played and commented over on his YouTube channel. [1]

Contents

Ten episodes were produced and filmed in Los Angeles, California during September 2015. A second season, titled Scare PewDiePie: Multiplayer, was set to be released on March 9, 2017, but the show was cancelled before its release due to scandals involving Kjellberg.

Plot

In the series, PewDiePie encounters terrifying situations and sets inspired by his favorite survival horror video games he previously played on his YouTube channel. In some episodes, he is joined by other YouTubers, who follow and help him, including Mark Fischbach (Markiplier), Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla of Smosh, Arin Hanson of the Game Grumps, and Matthew Patrick (MatPat). [1]

Production

Development

In September 2015, PewDiePie announced through a vlog that he was working with a camera crew to shoot a show on location in Los Angeles. [2] At the time, PewDiePie did not reveal whether it was to be shot for a television or online audience, confirming that he could not speak too much about the show's details at the time. [2]

In October 2015, YouTube announced YouTube Red, its paid subscription service that would offer subscribers an ad-free experience and the ability to download videos for offline viewing. [3] It was announced that the service would be launching original content exclusive to YouTube Red subscribers in 2016. [4] This original content was announced to include Scare PewDiePie, the aforementioned series hinted at by PewDiePie. [5] Skybound Entertainment and Maker Studios were announced as producers of the show. [6] [7]

After the series was announced, PewDiePie spoke about his experience shooting the series, stating, "Shooting a show like this in a completely new format has been so much fun," and adding, "we just wrapped shooting but I still feel unsure every day if I'm safe or not from another scare." [7] During a press release, Skybound's co-founder, Robert Kirkman, stated, "Working with Felix, YouTube, and Maker Studios on this venture has been creatively exhilarating and just plain fun. I trust audiences will love the show as much as we loved creating it." [5]

Renewal and cancellation

On June 23, 2016, YouTube announced that Scare PewDiePie would be renewed for a second season, [8] to be titled Scare PewDiePie: Multiplayer, in which PewDiePie would be joined by fellow YouTuber jacksepticeye. However, on February 14, 2017, YouTube announced that Scare PewDiePie was cancelled following a series of anti-Semitic jokes made by Kjellberg on his YouTube channel. [9]

On February 18, 2017, jacksepticeye released a video called "Let's Talk!" to his YouTube channel, which discussed PewDiePie being cut from Maker Studios as a result of the controversy. In it, he clarified that although he had tweeted in support of PewDiePie, he did not condone his actions and believed that he should have been more apologetic in response to the controversy. He stated, "You can still be friends with someone but not agree with something they do. I don't think the world is that black-and-white." [10] [11] However, the next day he tweeted that he regretted focusing on criticising PewDiePie in the video, saying that he had been "naive". In a Tumblr post, he said his main regret was not commenting on the mainstream media's reporting of the controversy stating that "there were some unethical practices at play with the media, a lot of misquoting and misrepresentation." [10]

On March 14, 2017, PewDiePie released a comedic video that included a fake first episode of Scare PewDiePie: Season 2. [12] Despite initially stoking online speculation that he would release the second season, [13] PewDiePie confirmed in the video that this would be impossible for legal reasons. He did express regret that the season would not be seen by the public, saying, "It's a shame, it's a damn shame." [14]

Episodes

No.TitleEpisode lengthOriginal release date
1"Level 1 – Let's Play Doctor"23:16February 10, 2016 (2016-02-10)
2"Level 2 – We're Not Alone"18:34February 17, 2016 (2016-02-17)
3"Level 3 – Hello Timmy"15:32February 24, 2016 (2016-02-24)
4"Level 4 – Time to Die Mr. Pie"17:25March 2, 2016 (2016-03-02)
5"Level 5 – Please Enjoy Your Stay"21:31March 9, 2016 (2016-03-09)
6"Level 6 – The Ultimate Hang"18:45March 16, 2016 (2016-03-16)
7"Level 7 – I'm Not Crazy (Outlast IRL Gameplay)"(YouTube Red Free Episode)20:44February 10, 2016 (2016-02-10)
8"Level 8 – Call of Pewdie"17:33March 23, 2016 (2016-03-23)
9"Level 9 – Naughty Pie"14:54March 30, 2016 (2016-03-30)
10"Level 10 – Game Over"15:34April 6, 2016 (2016-04-06)

Reception

The show was not well-received by critics, despite receiving support from viewers and PewDiePie fans. Erik Kain wrote for Forbes that the seventh episode (the only episode offered for free to non-YouTube Red viewers) was "terrible." Despite calling PewDiePie "a hard worker" and "a charismatic presence onscreen," Kain suggested that the show was not good enough to justify paying for it, writing: "It's just... maybe if you're a PewDiePie fan you might enjoy it, but I'd rather watch that one Brazilian elevator prank over and over again than this. And I can watch that on YouTube without a $10/month subscription." [15]

Writing for Variety , Brian Lowry said that the show "has a decidedly not-ready-for-primetime feel." Despite expressing optimism that YouTube Red would produce better content in the future, his review of the free episode was overwhelmingly negative, at one point reading: "Even with a relentless barrage of spooky sound effects and funky camera angles – and a creative pedigree that includes producers from The Walking Dead – it’s hard to imagine anything but the most committed bros (referring to PewDiePie fans) being anything but bored." [16]

When the show was initially released, some of PewDiePie’s fans felt upset that he had "sold out" by starring in a series produced by a corporation rather than himself. [17] However, when the series was cancelled, many fans rallied around PewDiePie and the show itself, feeling that the second season should have been released and that Kjellberg was being treated unfairly.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Gregory Brothers</span> American musical comedy quartet

The Gregory Brothers are an American musical quartet, specializing in comedy music and auto-tuning recorded speech through their YouTube channel Schmoyoho. After the success of their songs "Chrissy Wake Up" and "It's Corn" in the summer of 2022, NPR reported that they "are responsible for some of the biggest viral songs of the past decade."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Let's Play</span> Playthrough of a video game with commentary

A Let's Play (LP) is a video documenting the playthrough of a video game, often including commentary and/or a camera view of the gamer's face. A Let's Play differs from a video game walkthrough or strategy guide by focusing on an individual's subjective experience with the game, often with humorous, irreverent, or critical commentary from the player, rather than being an objective source of information on how to progress through the game. While Let's Plays and live streaming of game playthroughs are related, Let's Plays tend to be curated experiences that include editing and narration, and can be scripted, while streaming is often an unedited experience performed on the fly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disney Digital Network</span> American worldwide multi-channel network

Disney Digital Network was an American multi-channel network located in Culver City, California. It was originally the successor to Maker Studios, co-founded by Lisa Donovan, Danny Zappin, Scott Katz, Kassem Gharaibeh, Shay Carl, Rawn Erickson II, Ben Donovan, Philip DeFranco, Glasgow Phillips, Michael Gallagher, Matthew Clawson, and Paul Ballon in 2009. Maker Studios was originally conceived as an incubator for YouTube talent through the use of Super Channels like The Station. Maker Studios adopted the multi-channel network (MCN) model after the initial model failed to take root. Maker Studios was acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 2014 for $500 million, and was absorbed into the newly formed Disney Digital Network in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PewDiePie</span> Swedish YouTuber (born 1989)

Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, better known as PewDiePie, is a Swedish YouTuber known for his comedic videos. Kjellberg's popularity on YouTube and extensive media coverage has made him one of the most noted online personalities and content creators. He has been portrayed in media as a figurehead for YouTube, especially in the genre of gaming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Markiplier</span> American YouTuber (born 1989)

Mark Edward Fischbach, known online as Markiplier, is an American YouTuber, actor and filmmaker. One of the most popular YouTubers on the platform, he is known for his "Let's Play" videos of indie horror games. He was listed by Forbes as the third highest-paid content creator on the platform in 2022, and has won four Streamy Awards and a Golden Joystick Award. He has spun-off his YouTube fame into a media career, venturing into acting and filmmaking.

YouTube Rewind was an annual video series that was produced by YouTube and Portal A Interactive from 2010 to 2019. The videos were summaries of each year's viral videos, events, trends, and music. The series' annual installments were uploaded onto YouTube's official channel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marzia Kjellberg</span> Italian businesswoman (born 1992)

Marzia Kjellberg is an Italian businesswoman. Known for her videos on her now-inactive YouTube channel Marzia, Kjellberg has also ventured into writing, fashion design, and business. She has been married to Swedish YouTuber Felix ”PewDiePie” Kjellberg since 2019.

jacksepticeye Irish YouTuber (born 1990)

Seán William McLoughlin, better known publicly as jacksepticeye, is an Irish YouTuber whose videos focus on gaming, comedy and vlogging.

<i>PewDiePie: Legend of the Brofist</i> 2015 action-adventure platform game

PewDiePie: Legend of the Brofist is a 2D side-scrolling action-adventure platform video game developed and published by Canadian-based indie development studio Outerminds inc., in collaboration with PewDiePie. The game was released for iOS and Android on 24 September 2015 and became the top-grossing paid game in the United States App Store less than two hours after its release. The Microsoft Windows and OS X versions were released on 10 December 2015, with an additional co-op mode.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MatPat</span> American YouTuber (born 1986)

Matthew Robert Patrick, better known as MatPat, is an American semi-retired YouTuber and internet personality. He is the creator and former host of the YouTube series Game Theory, and its spin-off series Film Theory, Food Theory, and Style Theory, each analyzing various video games, films alongside TV series and web series, food, and fashion respectively. Each of the different series are posted on individual channels, each named after the respective series. In addition to the creation of his channels, MatPat narrated the majority of the videos that are presented on his channels prior to his departure on March 9, 2024.

<i>Tuber Simulator</i> 2016 freemium simulation mobile game

PewDiePie's Tuber Simulator is a freemium simulation mobile game developed by Outerminds Inc. and featuring PewDiePie, who voices himself. The game's premise focuses on the player creating online videos for views and subscribers, the former of which they can use to purchase goods that can increase performance.

<i>Parker Plays</i> US television program

Parker Plays is an American television series featuring Parker Coppins, known by his YouTube channel name ParkerGames, playing various video games. It premiered on July 15, 2017 as part of Disney XD's inaugural video-game themed programming block D|XP. The second season premiered on October 15, 2018 and ran for six episodes. After the show was unofficially canceled by Disney, Coppins created a YouTube show named Parker’s Place!, inspired by Parker Plays and produced by the same people, but only had 4 episodes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bitch Lasagna</span> Diss track by PewDiePie against T-Series

"Bitch Lasagna", originally named "T-Series Diss Track", is a song by Swedish YouTuber and comedian PewDiePie in collaboration with Dutch music producer Party In Backyard. The song satirizes Indian company and music label T-Series, as a response to predictions that T-Series would surpass PewDiePie in terms of subscriber count. The song was one of the first events in the PewDiePie vs T-Series competition, in which the two channels competed for the title of the most-subscribed YouTube channel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PewDiePie vs T-Series</span> 2018–2019 YouTube rivalry

PewDiePie vs. T-Series was an online rivalry between two YouTube channels, PewDiePie and T-Series, for the title of the most-subscribed YouTube channel. T-Series held the title of most-subscribed YouTube channel until June 2024, and PewDiePie had been the most-subscribed YouTube channel from August 2013 to April 2019. The rivalry between the two YouTube channels began when T-Series' subscriber count began to near PewDiePie's in late 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PewDiePie videography</span>

Swedish YouTuber Felix Kjellberg, known online as PewDiePie, has uploaded over 4,700 videos on the YouTube platform. Having accumulated over 29.3 billion video views as of June 2024, PewDiePie's channel ranks within the 100 most viewed on YouTube. Due to PewDiePie's YouTube channel having been the most-subscribed on the platform from 2013 through 2019, and it remaining one of the most since, his channel's videos have attracted substantial media coverage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congratulations (Roomie, PewDiePie, and Boyinaband song)</span> 2019 single by Roomie, PewDiePie, and Boyinaband

"Congratulations" is a song by YouTubers PewDiePie, Roomie and Boyinaband. The single was self-released on 31 March 2019 with an accompanying music video on YouTube as a response to T-Series surpassing PewDiePie as the most-subscribed YouTube channel. The music video is banned on YouTube in India. As of May 2023, the video has over 230 million views, making it PewDiePie's second most-viewed video, his most viewed being his previous T-Series diss track, Bitch Lasagna.

Joel Gustaf Berghult, better known as Roomie, is a Swedish YouTuber, singer-songwriter, and producer based in Los Angeles, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minecraft Multiplayer Fun</span> 2010 YouTube video by PewDiePie

"Minecraft Multiplayer Fun" is a 2010 YouTube video, noted for being the oldest video available for viewing on the PewDiePie channel. The video was uploaded by Felix Kjellberg, the owner of the channel, on 2 October 2010. Also featuring Xebaz, a friend of Kjellberg's, the video shows the two playing Minecraft, a sandbox video game. "Minecraft Multiplayer Fun" has been viewed more than 22 million times as of March 2024.

References

  1. 1 2 Kleckner, Stephen (October 21, 2015). "'Scare PewDiePie' is YouTube Red's exclusive reality show". Venture Beat. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Acuna, Kirsten (September 14, 2015). "It looks like YouTube's biggest star is filming a new mystery project in LA". Tech Insider. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  3. Splanger, Todd (October 21, 2015). "YouTube Red Unveiled: Ad-Free Streaming Service Priced Same as Netflix". Variety. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  4. "Introducing YouTube Red Original Series and Movies from your favorite stars". YouTube Official Blog. October 21, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  5. 1 2 Acuna, Kirsten (October 21, 2015). "PewDiePie is teaming up with 'The Walking Dead' creator on a new YouTube show". Tech Insider. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  6. Tassi, Paul (October 21, 2015). "'The Walking Dead' Creators Are Trying To Scare PewDiePie In A Show For YouTube Red". Forbes. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  7. 1 2 Sarkar, Samit (October 21, 2015). "PewDiePie is getting a reality series on YouTube's new ad-free subscription service". Polygon. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  8. "Another great slate of shows and movies coming from top creators to YouTube Red" . Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  9. Spangler, Todd (February 14, 2017). "YouTube Cancels PewDiePie Show, Pulls Channel From Ad Program After His 'Death to All Jews' Stunt". Variety. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  10. 1 2 Gillard, Sam (February 22, 2017). "Jacksepticeye Clarifies Position On PewDiePie Controversy". TenEighty. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  11. Hernandez, Patricia (February 22, 2017). "YouTubers Are Getting Dragged For Not Supporting PewDiePie 100%". Kotaku. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  12. "SCARE PEWDIEPIE 2 – EPISODE 1". March 14, 2017 via YouTube.
  13. PewDiePie Threatens To Leak Cancelled Second Season Of His YouTube Red Show, Tubefilter, Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  14. Felix Just Leaked Scare PewDiePie Season Two But Not How You Think, We the Unicorns. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  15. Kain, Erik. The First Episode Of 'Scare PewDiePie' Is Free Online, And It's Terrible, Forbes, Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  16. Lowry, Brian (February 10, 2016). "Review: 'Scare PewDiePie' on YouTube Red". Variety. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  17. Popper, Ben. Can PewDiePie grow up without alienating his fans?, The Verge, Retrieved July 26, 2019.